Reignition
by Hunbles
Summary: Calum feels like a dying light after the death of her mother. Nothing feels the same after her unexpected departure, leaving Calum and her Dad drowning in their grief. In a last ditch effort to recover, they decide to move to Forks, Washington to give themselves time to heal. Calum has no idea that as she's trying to collect herself again, a certain vampire has his eyes set on her.
1. Chapter 1 : Arrival

"Are you sure you'll be ok being there on your own, Calum?" My dad's concerned words were slightly muffled by the shuffling of papers and the soft tapping of a keyboard. I could imagine him sitting in his office with the phone pressed against his shoulder and ear as his eyes bounce from his computer screen to his paperwork.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I reassured. "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself for a few days, you know." I tried kept my words light and playful as I sat in the car, staring at the dark house out in front.

"I'm sure you can, Calum-." There was an alert sound in the background and a small pause. "Listen I've got a couple more things to take care of before the day's over. Make sure to lock up at night before bed. See you in a week." He rushed out before hanging up the phone, not even giving me enough time to reply back.

Moving my phone away from my ear, I held it in my lap for a moment. I stared down at the plastic in my hands, waiting for the screen to light up again and it be Dad calling me back to say something else. Anything else. My conversations with him lately have been lacking ever since Mom died. It was like all the love and affection in the family left with her. Our father daughter relationship turned into something more like a business partnership as he grew more distant and withdrawn. He threw himself into his work to keep his mind from wondering.

Dad was having a hard time accepting it and kind of shut down, closing himself away from everyone around him. He treated all his interactions with people like business transactions, short and to the point, and I was not exempted from it. A major part of him died with her and to be honest, a part of me did too.

After the accident, I felt like a hollow shell of the person I used to be. The loss of Mom was like having the flame inside of me blown out. There was no more light or warmth, just cold numbness. Like Dad, I closed myself off too. I found myself feeling more alone than I could ever remember being. With dad always at the office and my friends tiptoeing around me, I didn't even know where to begin with my recovery.

I felt like I were slowly crumbling away, fragile to the touch, and moments away from shattering apart myself. Mom was gone from the world and there was nothing I could do to change it.

It took a lot of time and a lot of cycling through my emotions but I managed to put myself back together just enough to be able to function like normal. Dad need the stability right now. He needed someone to support him and help him through this ordeal.

That was why I am currently parked in an unfamiliar drive way in an unfamiliar town. It was my idea and at the time I thought it was a good one too. Our house used to be so warm and inviting but now it was cold and suffocating. It was hard to live there without thinking about Mom.

Dad was hesitant about it at first, reluctant to part from everything, but after a few days he agreed with me. He admitted that at first he felt like if we moved it would be like we were trying to forget about her but he couldn't be in that house without or thinking about her too.

I gave the house one more look before I leaned forward and rested my forehead against the cool surface of the steering wheel, feeling uneasy.

It looked so intimidating, a daunting physical manifestation of what my life was now.

Cold and empty.

I knew I was being ridiculous. It was just a house, there was no reason for it be scary. The feeling was completely irrational but it didn't go away. Some part of me felt like the moment I got out of the car was the moment I fully committed to this whole thing.

I didn't know why I were having such a hard time with something so simple. I just had to get out of the car and settle in. All of this was supposed to help me and Dad move on. A fresh new start that would give the two of us time to heal. It wasn't like it was completely permanent. It was just until we were strong enough to go back. This was supposed to be a good thing, I thought, calming down enough to rationalize the situation again.

"This will be good." I repeated, thinking the sound of my own voice would be enough reassurance. "This is going to help." I continued, slowly building the courage to get out of the car.

I had to do this. Dad had already bought the house and transferred to his company's office branch in Seattle. I had to at least get out of the car.

Taking a few deep breathes, I moved to open the door when there was an unexpected knock on the driver's side window.

Jumping up, I made eye contact with a man dressed in a police officer's uniform. Just great, I thought, not even here for 10 minutes and I already did something wrong. Nervously I rolled down my window, making sure that my hands were always visible when I spotted the gun holster. "How can I help you, sir?" I meekly said.

He looked down at me with a hard expression. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, ma'am. You can't park on someone else's property. If you're looking for a rest stop, it's just a little further down." He pointed down the street for emphasis. His tone of voice held all the authority that matched his uniform.

Embarrassment crept on to my cheeks and I quickly tried to fix the misunderstanding before anything else happened. "I uh actually live here. Moving in today, sir." I lifted the copy of the house key Dad had made for me up for him to see.

"Oh." There was a pause as he turned his head to look at the house, clearly just as embarrassed as I was. His posture relaxed a bit. "Sorry about that then. Can't be too careful, you know?" He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "You just … weren't who I was expecting. Was expecting the older man I met when he came to see the house. Caught me off guard when I saw you-." He stopped himself from rambling on and offers his hand out for me to shake. "Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Charlie Swan, your new neighbor."

"Calum Talbot. It's nice to meet you too, sir. You were probably expecting my dad." I reply, awkwardly reaching out the window to shake his hand. The whole interaction was uncomfortable.

"You can call me Charlie. Is it just going to be you living here?" He asked, sounding a little concerned as he gave the house a once over as if looking for any telltale signs of danger.

"No, my dad will be up to join me soon." I said, not really wanting to give the exact amount of days I'll be alone to a stranger even if he was a policeman. Couldn't be too careful.

He nods in acceptance and asks if I needed any help carrying anything into which I politely declined. I didn't really bring much with me anyway, just a duffel bag of a couple changes of clothes and all the essentials.

"Well if you need anything you know where to find me." And with that, Charlie left to go back home. I was relieved that he wasn't the sort of neighbor that hovered.

Feeling like I couldn't put it off any longer, I finally got out of the car and started to bring what little I had into the house. There was quite a bit to do before my first day of school tomorrow.

...

Just a little introduction chapter before moving on to the meat of the story.


	2. Chapter 2 : First Day

The moment I woke up, I was greeted by how bleak and somber the room was. The room was bare. The only things in it was me, the air mattress I was lying on, and my duffel bag. I glanced out the window and saw how the constant clouds over Forks blocked out any sun from shining through.

It made everything feel a little more dreary.

Still groggy, I closer the blankets closer to my body and turned over to my side. I lied there for a few more minutes, taking a moment to just listen to my new surroundings. The house was unnerving quiet. The only sounds I could hear was the whoosh of passing cars and the faint murmur of nature. I never thought I'd miss the noise that I usually heard in the morning. The sound of the morning news on suspiciously loud volume, the sharp intentional clangs of a pan being used to make breakfast, and the not so gentle footsteps of my parents as they shuffled around the house would have been oddly comforting now. I never noticed how it just made everything feel lively before.

Snaking just enough of my arm from underneath the blanket to grab my phone, I check the time. Even though it was still fairly early I decided to get out of bed. It would probably be a good idea to give myself some extra time to get to school just in case I got lost. Draping my blanket around my shoulders, I made my way over to the bathroom.

As I brushed my teeth, I caught sight of the girl in the mirror. She stared back at me with dark circles under her eyes and a sad expression on her face.

She looked tired and worn out.

Bringing my hand up to touch my face, I gingerly pressed the tips of my fingers under my eyes. I wondered how I didn't noticed it before. It was unsettling to know that I somehow managed to ignore the obvious signs that reflected my wellbeing. I had always thought I fared somewhat better than Dad did, believing that I was strong and that I would be able to support the two of us.

I stood there for another minute, scrutinizing myself for letting it get to this point, before I shook myself out of it. There was no point in beating myself up over this. I could only recover and move on from here.

Finishing up my bathroom routine, I got ready and left for school. I figured if I got there too early then it wouldn't hurt to just sit there in the car until it was time.

It was surprisingly easy to find Forks High School. I didn't know if it was because it was the only high school in town or the constant trickle of students heading in one direction. Turning into the parking lot, I chose one of the spots farthest away from the large cluster of cars closest to the entrance. It was a relief to see that my outfit didn't stick out too much compared to everyone else's. I didn't want to make it easier to spot the new kid.

I sat in the car people watching for about 10 minutes before deciding to head to the office for my schedule. As I was stepping away from the truck of my car, a silver Volvo sped past a little too close for comfort. It narrowly missed hitting me by a few inches. Stumbling back, I glared at the back of the car in disbelief.

Who was the idiot that gave them a license?

I slammed the truck of my car a little harder than necessary before readjusting my backpack's strap on my shoulder and making my way towards the school. As I walked towards the Volvo, I thought about giving the rear bumper a good kick but its occupants got out too fast.

Perfecting synchronized, all four doors opened at the same time. My eyes darted over to the driver, wanting to get a good look at them and immediately scoffed.

He was exactly what I was expecting. A pretty boy who without a doubt thought he owned the school, parking lot included. It wasn't his fault that someone got in the way of his car.

For a brief second, I thought I saw him smirk but it disappeared as soon as it came. Maybe it was just my imagination. Confused, I pulled by eyes away from him and glanced at the others.

A hulking jock, a blond beauty, a petite fairy, and a tall honey haired…creep. My thought stalled when I caught the last one's gaze. The way he was looking at me made my skin crawl. There was something about it that was uncomfortable.

To simply put it, it felt wrong. His gaze was so intense, it scared me. I hastily looked away and continued to walk away but I still had the feeling he was looking at me.

"At least her reaction was normal." I faintly heard one of them say before I got too far.

Picking up my class schedule and some sort of class check in sheet, I walked to my first class. The school was fairly easy to navigate through. Managing to weave in and out of the student body, I tried to avoid all the curious eyes and whispers.

My first four classes were painless enough. By the time lunch came by, I was already certain that I'd be able to catch up in no time. Just needed to put in a few extra hours studying. As I jotted down some errands to run afterschool on the palm of my hand, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

Startled, I whirled around and immediately met eyes with a girl with long dark hair.

"Sorry, am I in your way?" I quickly shuffled to one side of the hallway, moving out of her way.

"Oh! No, sorry. I just noticed that you looked new here and wanted to introduce myself." She gave me a small smile and offered her hand out. "I'm Angela. We have fourth period together."

"Calum." I lightly shook her hand. "Is it was obvious?"

"No actually, you blend in pretty well." She reassured, giggling.

Angela invited me to come sit with her and her friends for lunch to which I happily accepted. It would stop people from passing by and asking me questions about my mysterious past. I figured in a town like this, where all the clichés and circles were formed at a young age, and to them I was the shining new beacon of interest.

After all the introductions were made, I noticed that Angela had quite an assortment of friends.

Eric tended to hover and bob around the table, trying to be a part of every conversation. I guessed that it was just a result of being on the school's newspaper.

Jessica, to simply put it, was an average girl who liked to talk. The girl seemed to naturally gravitate towards any news or gossip, the unofficial eyes and ears of Forks High School.

Lauren seemed to be a self-appointed Queen Bee. She immediately sized me up the second I made an appearance before deeming me unworthy of her time and turning to talk to a boy named Tyler.

Said boy was friendly if not a bit too courageous with how friendly he was towards people of the opposite sex. I didn't think too much else about him though.

Mike was ok, there wasn't much to think about him either since he poured all of his attention on to the most recent addition to their group.

Bella Swan.

The chief of police's daughter had moved to Forked just a week before I did. I noticed that she wasn't paying any attention to anything Mike was talking to her about. Instead she was looking at something across the cafeteria. When I followed her gaze I noticed that it was actually someones. It was the Volvo kids from this morning.

I didn't say it out loud but I admitted to myself that they definitely looked like they didn't belong. They stuck out too much compared to the rest of the student body. I couldn't put my finger on it but there was something off about them.

As I scanned over the group, I met a pair of piercing eyes again.

I quickly looked away and turned my attention back to the people around me. Jessica scooted closer to me and leaned close to my ear. "I think Jasper Cullen is looking at you." She excitedly giggled, trying to slyly glance over her shoulder to confirm it.

"Who?" I faked ignorance. At least now I had a name to the face.

"Jasper Cullen." She repeated. I held back from rolling my eyes. She said that like that was all the explanation I needed.

"Am I supposed to know who they are?" This got the rest of the table's attention. I guessed my tone of voice was a little harsh. "I've only been here a day." I added in a softer tone.

Jessica's face seemed to light up at that, excited to fill someone in on the drama and details of the 'infamous' Cullen family. "They're Doctor Cullen's kids. Adoptive kids." She stressed. "There's Emmett, the big one. Rosalie, the blond one next to him. They're like together. Then there's the small girl next to them. That's Alice, she's ok but kinda weird. That leaves Edward and Jasper. Edward is the one with the light brown hair. Jasper, the one I told you was starting, is the other blonde. He and Rosalie are twins. They're all nice but don't get the wrong idea. They've never been interested in anyone before." I thought it was strange to add in that warning but nonetheless you shrugged in acknowledgement.

She had given me more information than I needed but at least I knew who was who now.

Jessica looked shocked by my reaction but continued on. "They don't really talk to anyone that's not a part of their family. It's so weird."

"What's so weird about it?" I asked, giving her a look.

This made Jessica fumble on her words a little. Her tone of voice was quieter this time. "Everyone just wants to be friends but they just keep to themselves. It makes it hard for everyone else."

I thought was that was a bold and ridiculous thing to say. As long as they were nice and polite, it shouldn't matter if they weren't friendly or buddy buddy with everyone else. They weren't obligated to be friends with anyone. I guessed that in such a small town like Forks, it was just normal for everyone to be friends or at least close acquaintances. The idea of being anything else was uncommon. Plus I found it kind of hard to believe that everyone just wanted to be 'friends' with the Cullens but I decided to keep that thought to myself. "I guess." I said in acknowledgement.

With one last glance in their direction, I shrugged. They couldn't be that interesting.

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I think next chapter will be from Cullen's POV. Not sure which one yet though


	3. Chapter 3 : First Sight

Jasper's POV

I watched Edward disappear into the tree line once again, undoubtedly going to go check on the Swan girl.

His behavior as of late has been somewhat erratic ever since the girl arrived in Forks. It was interesting to see how quickly he grew attached to her. From the way that Edward described it, it was instantaneous. The constant pull he felt to the girl was confusing but also dangerous. Her scent alone drove him into a near uncontrollable thirst when they first met, he said. I could understand that portion of their connection but what followed baffled me. Edward managed to control himself and grow a strange fixation.

Unable to stay away, it became a common occurrence for him to disappear during the day to do who knew what but he'd always come back smelling like her.

My siblings and I, excluding Alice, just concluded it to be a strange spontaneous obsession but Edward's emotions placed some doubt in me. I couldn't be sure but he felt some sort of love for the girl.

Perhaps I was being closed minded or maybe it was my lack of experience on the topic but the idea of love at first sight seemed farfetched. It was hard to completely accept but I wasn't exactly in the best situation to argue against it. My family being the perfect example to counteract any argument I may have had. Carlisle and Esme. Rosalie and Emmett.

Edward's situation was different from everyone else's though. His initial reaction to his mate was immediate thirst and madness.

I suppose when it came down to it, I was just skeptical. I didn't think there was anything more to feel towards humans besides thirst before I met my family.

It was easy to see that his unexpected intrigue with Bella Swan could jeopardize our family. The simplest of slip ups would end up in definite disaster but Edward claimed that he could handle himself even though humans were such fragile things. How could they possibly defend themselves against us, when they were so susceptible to everything?

I pitied Edward in a way. It was bad enough that his destined mate was human but it seemed like she was a human that naturally gravitated towards danger. It's become common knowledge in Forks that Bella was very accident prone. The girl was clumsy and when combined with her mortality, it was a natural recipe for disaster however we couldn't do anything than trust him.

In the end, it was better him than me.

"Ready for school today?" Alice took a seat on to the couch next to me as we waited for Edward to return from the Swan residence.

I looked down at her with an amused expression on my face. Seeing that she was asking me instead of just telling me meant that it wasn't anything of dire importance or urgency. "Depends. What's going to happen today, Alice?"

"If I told you, it'd ruin the surprise!" She wagged her finger in annoyance because I dodged her question. "It's something wonderful though."

"Couldn't tell." I laughed. Alice was practically oozing excitement and giddiness about this 'surprise'. I wasn't going to lie and say that her random outburst didn't make me a little concerned. Alice's surprises weren't always as good as she promised them to be. I made a note to consult Edward about this when he comes back.

"I don't think any surprises involving Jasper would be a good thing." Rosalie's voice filled the room as she and Emmett emerged from their room.

I rolled my eyes at her comment. Would I ever be free from the teasing and prodding? I wondered how many more years would it be before they're convinced that I fully adapted to our diet.

"I don't know, babe. It sounds like it could be fun." Emmett grinned, throwing an arm over Rose's shoulder, itching for some fun from our mundane lifestyle.

"As fun as it sounds, I think I agree with Rose. Perhaps I should stay home 'sick' today." As much as I think I can handle myself for the most part, it was better safe than sorry.

"Absolutely not!" Alice protested, grabbing hold of my forearm and giving it a light squeeze. "You will go to school today or so help me Jasper, I will drag you there if I have to."

"It's not good to skip out on your education, Jasper. What would our parents think?" Edward came home from his excursion with a smirk on his house. I snorted at his comment, wasn't he the one that said that skipping every so often was healthy? I was going to reply back to him but narrowed my eyes instead when I caught the look on his face.

He knew.

He and Alice were in on it together. Edward and Alice by themselves were bad enough but together they were an absolute nightmare.

"That's an over exaggeration don't you think, Jasper?"

I kept my guard up as we arrived at school but there was nothing out of ordinary from what I could see. Everyone was acting as they normally would except for the select few but I couldn't really consider my siblings to be normal.

Alice was practically bouncing in her seat as Edward drove into the school parking lot. Edward couldn't seem to take his eyes off of me from the rear view mirror. Rosalie an Emmett were indifferent, confirming that this wasn't just an elaborate joke they were playing on me.

Between Alice's behavior and Edward's staring, I couldn't figure out which of them was more concerning. Focusing on my senses, I shifted my attention to the surroundings outside of the window as we parked. Nothing was out of place or suspicious.

Gritting my teeth together, I was starting to lose my patience. They were making me anxious. The last thing I wanted to do was put my family in danger. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice sounding strained, as I turned my attention to the troublesome two. This caught Rose's and Emmett's attention and they turned to look too. Rose's eyes narrowed in anticipation to the sound of trouble. She was the keenest on keeping our secret under wraps.

"Nothing bad, I promise." Alice reassured, smiling up at me before using the heels of her tiny feet to propel me out through the car door. "Quickly now, the timing is important!"

I allowed her to shove me out while bracing myself for the worse. Taking an unnecessary breath of air, I immediately felt my muscles tense up.

Greedily inhaling as much of the aroma as I could, I felt my venom begin to pool in my mouth. It smelt divine. My mind began to grow hazy as I indulged myself. Opening my eyes, I scanned the area around me for the source before meeting a pair of cool grey eyes staring back at me.

The girl standing before me was the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on. I didn't dare look away in fear that if I did, she'd disappear.

Her pale blonde hair perfectly complimented her peachy tan skin. The wavy locks flowed down her back like a shower of white gold. They framed her face and showcased her stunning eyes. Reminiscent of clouds that hung over Forks, her eyes were a light shade of grey that sucked you in. As I stared into them, I felt the world around me shifted and changed so that she was at the center of it all. Sharp and piercing, her eyes stared back at me for the briefest of moments before she cruelly tore them away from me and walked off.

Panic and uneasiness flooded me as the distance between us grew.

Stepping forward to chase after her, I felt Edward's hand reach out to grab my shoulder before I got too far. "Careful, Jasper. She's wary of us."

Rosalie snorted at that and folded her arms over her chest, whispering. "Finally a normal human."

"At least her reaction was normal." Emmett commented with a shrug. "Different from the usual but normal."

ooooo

Hey guys! Sorry for the late post, I got a tad bit busy but I hope this chapter gave you an idea of what Jasper was thinking. (Hopefully I did his character justice)

Still doubting on whether I will continue with Jasper's POV or if I'll switch back to Calum's.


	4. Chapter 4 : Just a Feeling

A/N: Bella in this fanfiction is going to a little different from how she was in the books. I wanted her to be a little more cautious and expressive I guess? I always thought the way she reacted in the books was a little off for how smart she was, a little too reckless and easily swayed btu maybe that was just me. Please let me know what you think though c:

Turns out that I had 5th period with Bella and Mike.

The three of us were currently making our way over to the science building after splitting from the group once lunch ended. As we walked, I felt an uneasy feeling run down my spine for a second. The feeling that someone was staring at my back made me feel uncomfortable and somewhat paranoid as the feeling gnawed away at my brain.

The feeling disappeared and I feel strangely calm, like nothing even happened.

I subtly glanced over my shoulder and quickly scanned the area behind me to see if anyone was looking my way but got zilch. All I saw were students shuffling around and talking to one another like normal.

Maybe it was just my imagination, I reasoned.

Deciding to let it go, I went back to listening to what Mike was talking to us about as we walked to bits and pieces I heard from walking behind them made it sound interesting. It was something about hiking and how he had plans to go this weekend with a couple friends. Mike even invited us to come along if we wanted to. I thought about it and admitted that it sounded like a fun idea. The nature surrounding Forks was absolutely beautiful and he got me thinking about exploring around myself.

I was about to ask him where the best hiking trails were but noticed how he was only looking at Bella. Just watching him interact with her really made me feel for the guy.

I didn't know if I was just reading into it too much but it was obvious that Bella wasn't really into what Mike was saying. The girl wasn't being rude or anything, she'd reply and acknowledge what he was saying but it was clearly not the reaction he was looking for. The poor guy couldn't take a hint and just kept throwing out topics in the hopes of landing saying something Bella was interested in.

Soon enough, we made it to class. Walking in, I copied the others and hung up my jacket on the racket along the wall before making my way over to the teacher standing in the front of the room.

"Um, Mr. Banner?" I questioned, double checking my class schedule just in case.

"Depends. Who's asking?" The energetic man answered, laughing at his own joke. "You must be Calum Talbot."

I nodded. "Guilty." The man's bubbly attitude was infectious and I found myself joking back.

"Well Calum, let's get you settled and oh by the way welcome to Forks." He smiled back before signing my papers. He sat me in the back of the class by myself until he could find me a suitable group to work with.

The first part of class was spent working on identifying the different stages of plant cell growth while the rest of it was spent people watching. The advance of being sat in the back was that I could look at everyone without worrying about getting any looks back.

From what I saw, everyone was having some trouble noticing the differences between the slides and I was immediately happy that I've done this exercise before because I was nearly 100% sure that I would have been struggling too if I hadn't.

Keeping busy, I was writing down tonight's homework assignment when I glanced over at Bella's table. She was talking to one of the Cullen boys. I racked my brain to remember what Jessica had said in her run down of the Cullens. Judging by his looks that one had to be Edward. The youngest of the bunch and from what I could see, the most talkative. He was chatting away from Bella as the microscope between them sliding back and forth on the black countertop.

Watching their interaction for a few minutes, I noticed how Bella suddenly stiffened up after something Edward had said before she abruptly closed her notebook. Grabbing her things with haste, Bella kicked her seat into place before storming towards me. The look on her face was enough for me not to question her actions...just yet. Better to let the girl cool off a bit. Taking the seat next to mine, she threw her things on to the desk before jerking the microscope towards her. Muttering something under her breath, she focused on the slide under the lens, not even bothering to ask me how far I had gotten.

I was taken aback by her sudden change of behavior and quickly glanced over to Edward. He was staring at the two of us with a shocked expression that matched my own. Clearly he didn't anticipate that happening.

Staring for a few seconds more, I smugly snorted. I didn't know what he did or said but serves him right. I was happy to see that not everyone was susceptible to his 'charm'. He and I met eyes for a briefly before I smirked and turned my attention to the brooding girl next to me.

"You trying to impale yourself with the microscope, Bella?"

School ended rather quick after that. I was surprised to find out that Bella and I actually got along pretty well. The girl wasn't so bad if you weren't Mike Newton, I thought, snickering to myself a little bit. As I absentmindedly walked to my car after separating from Bella, a figure quickly stepped in front of me. Catching me off guard, I staggered to a halt and stared down at the short raven haired girl beaming at me.

"Hi, I'm Alice." She smiled, taking my hand and shaking it. Her hands were icy cold and made me shiver a little bit. This girl needed gloves or something, I thought, glancing down at our conjoined hands. "You're new here right?"

"Y-yeah, um just moved here. Calum Talbot." I answered somewhat awkwardly, smiling back at her. I didn't want to be rude but she seemed to be that sort of person who was aggressively nice. Remembering what Jessica had said at lunch, I wondered if this was normal behavior for the Cullens. From what she said, they were supposed to keep to themselves and not really talk to anyone. Yet there was Edward and now Alice.

"I know." She nonchalantly answered. " Come on, let me introduce you to my siblings." Alice didn't even wait for a reply before she started pulling me along. I was going to question her answer when I noticed how everyone seemed to be staring at us as I was dragged towards the other Cullens. I groaned a little, if the rumors around them were tried and true then this would result in a bunch of rumors buzzing around school in no exactly what I wanted being the new kid in school and town and all.

Not wanting to make a scene, I allowed Alice to usher me over, figuring that it was on the way to my car anyway. Besides, maybe this was something like an obligatory greeting before they ignored me like everyone else.

"What's that you got there, Alice?" The big burly one called out as we got close.

"My new friend, Calum." She beamed as if stating the obvious.

I glanced down at the girl, again taken aback. We haven't even exchanged a handful of words yet but she had declared me her friend. I commended her for her confidence but I chose not to think too much about it, something like this was sure to fall through anyway. Looking back at the big one, I sized him up with a frown on my face before replying. "I'm also not a that. Thank you."

"Ooh spicy." He laughed before apologizing. "Emmett and this nice piece of-." He gestured a hand to the blonde girl next to him before she interrupted him.

"I am not an object, Emmett." She warned with a sharp look before looking over to me. "Rosalie." She said before turning her attention to Emmett.

"And you've already met Edward so we're just going to skip him." Alice chimed in, making a shooing motion towards her other brother, dismissing him from the entire interaction. "He's not that important."

I smiled and almost voiced my agreement. Although we didn't know too much about each other, Alice seemed like someone I'd come to like if fate permitted.

Someone cleared their throat before stepping closer to me on my right. Lifting my head up to meet his eyes, I acknowledged the only Cullen left. His golden eyes bore into mine, seemingly trying to analyze and process my very existence. I felt small under his intense gaze for some reason. His presence was hard to ignore. It seemingly demanded my full attention.

"Jasper." He smiled, offering a hand out to me.

"Calum." I replied, weakly placing my smaller hand in his to shake. Noticing my behavior I frowned a little. I was being rude, I thought. I hadn't even said anything before this to the guy and I already categorized him as a creep based on our two interactions. Deciding to give Jasper the benefit of the doubt, I chose to start over and smiled at him. "Pleasure to meet you, Jasper."

Turning my hand over, he gently pressed his lips against the back of my hand with a wink. "Pleasure's all mine, darling."

Welp, there it was, I thought, there went giving him the benefit of the doubt. Harshly pulling my hand out of his grasp, I slightly sneered at him. "Calum is fine. Thank you."

I stepped away from him and hastily said my goodbyes to the others before continuing to my car. I deliberately tried to keep my normal pace, not wanting him to think that his 'friendly' gesture had me frazzled or flustered.

"Probably thought I'd be easy game." I said, muttering under my breath.

What did you guys think? Also I'm going to try to post the next chapter soon if I can find some time.


	5. Chapter 5 : Miscalculation

Jasper's POV

Fate was testing my resolve, I was sure of it now. After years of abstinence, I thought I had already come across all the difficult hurdles with my new diet already, yet she is. The girl would ruin it all for me. Everything about her was alluring. Her smile was inviting, her voice was hypnotic, and her scent was absolutely divine. Every fiber of her being called out to me and I had to push down the thirst that was slowly creeping up on me.

I reminded myself that she was my mate and she deserved the world.

As I enjoyed the warmth of her humanity against my fingers, I had to restrain from using my abilities. Humans took things slow and didn't like to be manipulated. It'd be unwise to influence her judgement The sudden change wouldn't go unnoticed.

Of course, I considered how much easier it would be but a part of me wanted her feelings to be genuine. If they weren't genuine then they were worthless.

This was new for me, never had I had to treat a human with so much care before. My lack of experience made it difficult to formulate the next best thing to do? Deciding to fall back on what I knew worked best, I gently pressed my lips against her knuckles and waited for her cheeks to flush pink.

Confident in my choice, I was caught completely off guard when the reaction I received was one of pure disgust.

She tore her hand out of mine and sneered at me, cradling her hand close to her chest as if I had burned her. "Calum is fine. Thank you." Her voice was the same as before, leveled and calm, but I could feel waves of anger and irritation roll off of her. I watched, stunned as she hastily said her goodbyes and walked away without even another glance in my direction.

Letting my hand fall to my side, I stood there frozen in place. Devastation blossomed in my chest as her sudden rejection left me utterly confused.

The majority of the car ride home was quiet, I was beginning to find solace that my siblings held some sympathy for me with the turn of events when Emmett began to laugh.

"That was smooth, Jas." He teased, his laughing fit shook the car and earned an irritated look from Edward. "When's she coming over to meet Carlisle and Esme?"

I held back from rolling my eyes when I heard a faint, "Hopefully he'll come to his senses and it won't have to come to that."

"Must you be so insufferable today, Rosalie?" I asked, her consistent petty remarks were beginning to take a toll on my patience.

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same, Jasper." She snapped back, glaring at me through the rear view mirror before looking over at Edward. "Can you two idiots not see that pursing a 'relationship' with this humans would put all of us in danger? You are selfishly putting our family in jeopardy."

"If you consider them as that big of a threat to us, I don't know what to say to you Rosalie. Seems like your understanding of our own capabilities is flawed." Edward retorted back, sounding arrogant with the slightest bit of guilt underneath it all.

She growled and stormed out of the car as soon as he parked. Alice followed behind her after giving Edward an annoyed look. "That wasn't unnecessary, Edward."

In response, Edward just rolled his eyes and walked into the tree line, undoubtedly going to check on the Swan girl.

As much as I wanted to refute Rosalie's comments, I begrudgingly couldn't. She was right. Frowning, I began to walk toward the house when Emmett stopped me. "Don't let Rose get to you too much. You know how she is, man. She's just worried but I trust you. I know you got everything under control but if you don't then maybe I'll get to go one on one with you for real." He grinned, patting me on the shoulder before going to find Rosalie.

I appreciated Emmett's word but it made me question if his trust was well placed.

Walking to the house, I could hear Rosalie angrily muttering and stomping around her room. If unattended, her tantrum would last for hours. I reached out to calmed my sister before there was a hole in Esme's beautiful floor plan.

It worked for a moment before Rosalie screeched a contradicting, "I'm calm!"

Lying down in my room, I tried to formulate another way to approach Calum after my massive blunder today. My concentration was broken when I heard footsteps approaching my door. A frown etched itself on to my face and before they could knock, I muttered a soft, "Come in.", before sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees.

Stepping into my room and gently closing the room behind her as if it'd make a difference, Rosalie looked at me with a practiced neutral expression on her face. I quickly noticed that she didn't have her usual confident aura about her. Deciding not to say anything about it, we stared at each other for a couple seconds before I spoke up.

"What is it, Rosalie?" I wasn't angry with her anymore. I've come to terms with what she said. I remembered feeling the same when Edward's predicament first occurred. I was ready to go as far as to get rid of the Swan girl all together but now that I was in the same situation, I saw things differently. I had to be more careful. Rosalie wasn't in the wrong to be concerned. Grated her way of showing it could have been executed better but none the less, I appreciated the concern since I filtered out the attitude.

"I spoke with Emmett." Was all she said before falling back into silence.

Fighting back the urge to sigh, I reached out for the remainder of my patience. "Rosalie, I can't read minds like Edward. Would you kindly elaborate on what you mean?"

I felt a spike of irritation from her before it dispersed.

"He reminded me that not everyone meets their mates under the _best_ circumstances and that I was being rude." She huffed at the last bit like that was the worst thing that was ever said about her. "I'm...sorry."

She said sorry like it actually pained her and that made me smile. It wasn't everyday Rosalie apologized and actually meant it. "It's ok, Rose."

"I can see your shit eating grin from here, Jasper." She pointed out. "I'll try to be nicer as long as you're cautious."

Turning my face to smile at her, I nodded in agreeance. "I think I could manage that."

She rolled her eyes and turned to leave but stopped just before the door and turned her head back at me. "I'd stop staring at her so much. I don't need powers to know that she doesn't like it. It's creepy." Then she left.

Filled with both shame and embarrassment, I found myself standing outside her house in the middle of the night. I stood there, shrouded by the cover of the trees, when I remembered what brought me here in the first place.

Edward had just walked into the house after his daily escapade with a smug expression plastered on his face. "Seems like the Swans have a new neighbor." He said before disappearing further into the house without another word.

I tried to resist stooping down to Edward's level. I honestly did but my curiosity became too much to bear and I soon found myself here. I weakly reasoned to myself that this obvious breach in privacy was so I could better understand her.

She was currently in her kitchen, sitting at the table with her school work scattered across the table. As I watched her work on her homework, I began to think that my visit wasn't going to lead to anything useful when I noticed a slow decline in her mood. Calum stopped writing and looked away from her assignment, focusing on nothing in particular. Seemingly lost in a world of her own, a silent tear swept down her cheek.

Alarmed, I had to stop myself from rushing over. What happened? My eyes scanned the room to see what could have caused it but came up short. I helplessly watched Calum sit alone at her dinner table with tears streaming down her cheeks and staining her papers. Amongst the overwhelming sadness I felt, I couldn't help but think she looked oddly serene. Her expression and behavior didn't match with her emotions. She looked almost like a statue, frozen in place.

ooooo

It seems like posting late is becoming a habit for me haha but for some reason the Jasper POV chapters are the hardest for me to write. I want to be in character but make it more rational and reasonable but not whiny or creepy xD  
Maybe it'll get easier the more I write.


	6. Chapter 6 : Accident

I was used to waking up groggy and disoriented from time to time but I usually woke up where I fell asleep. So it was kind of concerning when I woke up in bed and not at the kitchen table.

Sitting up, I tried to remember getting ready for bed after my little episode in the kitchen but was coming up blank. I could only recall feeling overwhelmed by the bleak emptiness of the house last night. The lack of any furniture or sounds of life got to me more than I would like to admit.

I wondered if I was just being hypersensitive to my surroundings and forgetting things or if I was just too tired from everything to remember.

Deciding to leave it be for now, I got out of bed and was on my way to the bathroom when I noticed the frost on my window. When I took in all the snow, a small smile grew on my face. Seeing it on tv was nothing compared to the real thing. It looked soft and shimmery, a smooth layer of fluff that covered everything. It being my first time seeing snow in person, childlike giddiness bubbled within me and I rushed to get ready for a spare minute or two so I could touch it.

Dressed and ready to go, I went to grab my bag but got momentarily sidetracked when I noticed it leaning against the wall. All packed up, I thought it was weird because I usually packed it in the morning but shrugged it off. It was a weird night, I probably just didn't remember doing it last night. Stepping out the front door, I probably shouldn't have been so hasty to go outside because the moment my foot touched the pavement, I slipped. Wincing from the pain that shot up my spine, I slid flat on my ass a couple inches before stopping. Apparently there was ice and snow. It didn't take long for my enthusiasm to disappear as I attempted to get on to my feet like a newborn deer. Wobbly, I carefully treaded to my car, making a note to drive slower today.

oOo

Letting out a sigh of relief the moment I put car into park, I thought about how winter in Forks wasn't as nice as I was led to believe. It was deceiving. Stepping out of my car, I glanced around to see who was here. Spotting Bella, I reached back into my car to grab my backpack when I heard someone called my name from behind me. Straightening out and looking over my shoulder, I saw Alice waving at me with Jasper trailing behind her. At that point, I knew that it was too late to flee. Eye contact was made and it'd just be rude to walk away like I didn't notice them. I waved back with a smile before locking my car and walking over to meet them half way.

"Morning Alice. Jasper." I carefully eyed him, deciding him the moment he got out of line I was going to walk away. Politeness be damned.

"Good morning, Calum." Alice greeted me and quickly pulled me into a hug, catching me off guard. Releasing me, she held on to my hands with her gloved ones and beamed up at me. "I love your outfit today. Your style is impeccable."

Glancing down and giving my clothes a once over, I didn't think it looked that great. Just sneakers, black pants, a long black sleeve shirt, and a tan corduroy jacket. Frankly, it wasn't the smartest thing to be wearing with the current weather conditions but I just smiled and tried to play it off because this was the thickest jacket I had until Dad came with our boxes. I didn't want to look like the idiot that didn't think snow was cold. "Thanks Alice, your outfit is...just wow."

She seemed to smile even wider at them and began to talk about fashion and all the different styles that she thought suit me. I wanted to give her all my attention but it was kind of hard to do so while nearly freezing. Willing my body to stay as still as possible, I shared my thoughts and commented on Alice's ideas.

"Cold?" I was so focused on Alice that Jasper scared me a little when he spoke up. It was just one word but it cut through my thoughts and brought my attention to him. Looking up at him, I was going to reply with 'Just a bit but I'll live' when I saw that he was already taking off his jacket.

Was it normal to just lend your jacket to someone you just met a day ago in Forks?

Shaking the judgmental thoughts out of my head, I had to stop and think about what I was doing. He could probably see right through me and just wanted to do something nice. It just caught me by surprise because his attitude yesterday was so different from todays. Was he just messing with me?

Nonetheless, as nice as it was I didn't think I really wanted to wear someone I barely knew's jacket. Let alone a popular boy's jacket that was going to attract attention I didn't need or want.

"You don't have to do that, Jasper! It's only a little cold, I can handle it. What if you get cold?" I held up my hands in an attempt to stop him but he was already holding it up for me.

"I insist. Don't want you getting sick and if I'll be honest, I'm only wearing it because Alice said 'it completed my whole look'." He smiled, glancing down at Alice's eye roll. I was going to refuse it again but before I could say anything, he stepped a little closer and draped his jacket over my shoulders. "I'm not even cold."

"You sure? You're only wearing a button up." I pointed out not really sure of what else to say. Of course, I didn't have to take it. If I didn't want it then he couldn't really force it on me but if I was going to be honest, I was cold. Having another layer would be greatly appreciated but I didn't want to sound too eager about it in case this was an elaborate plan to get something from me.

"Promise." He reassured with a laid back smile.

"I'd be offended if it didn't look so good on Calum, Jasper." Alice lightly pushed Jasper. "If I just do this..." She trailed off before grabbing my backpack from me and handing it to Jasper to hold. Like I was her own dress up doll, Alice slotted my arms through Jasper's jacket and tugged it into place before stepping back to get a good look. "Better."

Holding up an arm, I flopped the excess sleeve at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" I laughed.

"I think Alice's right. It looked even better on you." Jasper piped in, handing my backpack back to me.

"If you say so." I shook my head in disbelief before slinging the strap on to my shoulder. I caught Bella staring at me from the other side of the parking lot and decided it was time for make my exit. "Thanks for the jacket, Jasper, and your fashion critic, Alice but if you'll excuse me. I think Bella is waiting for me."

"We'll see you later then Calum!" Alice smiled while Jasper just simply nodded his head in acceptance. Maybe it was just my imagination but he almost looked disappointed.

I walked over to Bella as quickly and as steadily as I could without slipping and waved at her. She was leaning against the driver side door of her truck and just gave me a look. "What was that about?"

"Alice and Jasper just came to say hi and now I have another jacket." I held up the floppy sleeves before changing the topic to her car. "Your car's got character. What model is it?"

"Not sure exactly but Ch- my dad got it for me from a family friend. A homecoming present." She smiled at that and patted the hood of the car.

"That was nice of him. It looked like one of those older cars that would be fine if it got into an accident." I gently knocked on the metal frame as if I knew what I was talking about. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Surprised by my sudden question, Bella laughed and gave me a suspicious look. "I guess? What are you doing to do? Test the sturdiness of my car?"

Climbing up on the edge of the truck bed with my legs hanging over, I pulled my backpack on to my lap and looked back at her. "No, just wanted to check my bag for everything but I could if you wanted. I'm sure we could find a hammer somewhere in your garage."

"I'll pass on that, thanks. With my luck, I'd end up with a hole in my car instead of a dent."

A comfortable silence fell over us as I rummaged through my bag and Bella stared off at something or...someone by the looks of it. I was just about to tease her about staring at Edward after what happen in Bio when a loud commotion sounded off in the parking lot. Immediately looking up, I caught sight of a car quickly skidding towards me and Bella. The car was moving too quickly for me to react in time and before I knew it, the back end of the car fishtail spun into Bella's truck. The impact of the two rear ends colliding knocked me off my perch and into the truck bed.

Flying back, I slammed against the other side of the truck bed. My breath was knocked out of me and I could feel glass shower down on me. The loose shard cut into my palms as I tried to grasp on to anything to hoist myself up.

My head ached and throbbed from the impact of my fall and I was finding it difficult to think straight. Blinking a few times, my vision was blurry and trying to see around me was putting a strain on them. Closing my eyes, I slowly lost consciousness as muffled screaming and telling grew closer.

Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter. please elect me know what you thought.

I have the next chapter's outline and ready to go. I'll start writing that one soon!


	7. Chapter 7 : Apologizes

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the backseat of a moving car. Still a little dazed and confused, I stared out the window watching the dimly lit street lights pass by for a few seconds. I tried to collect my thoughts but my attention shifted when +someone started to talk.

"Could you explain to me again why you just had to leave, sweetheart? I'm having a hard time understanding." A soft voice teased. "I thought teenagers were supposed to like going to parties."

My eyes widened and I immediately sat up in my seat to see who it was. Clasping a hand over my mouth, I held in a silent sob. Tears ran down my face from shock as I stared at her serene expression. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world. Not daring to take my eyes off of her, I hesitantly withdrew my hand and shaikly reached out for her. "Mom…?"

"And aren't parents supposed to discourage them from going to said parties? I'm saving you the time and effort of coming to find me." The sound of my own voice caught me off guard. Looking over to my right, it was strange seeing myself sitting in the passenger seat. "Besides, there wasn't really anything interesting happening other than underaged drinking and dancing. I honestly don't know how Alex considers it a good time."

The realization crept over me slowly at first. I couldn't exactly pinpoint where I've heard this conversation before but it sounded so familiar.

"He isn't drinking, is he?"

"No, he's babysitting Kayla and Penny as they drink." Mimic me snickered.

"Should I be concerned?" Mom teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, Alex can handle himself just fine." Mimic me reassured before leaning over and resting her head on Mom's shoulder. Her next few words were spoken in a low whisper. "Thanks for coming to get me, Mom. You're the best."

The moment I heard those words, everything clicked and my heart sank. Panic pooled in the pit of my stomach and I suddenly realized where I was. I watched as Mom turned her head to look down at mimic me and kissed the crown of her head. "Anything for you, sweetheart."

Frantic and on the edge of hysteria, I glanced out every window for any sign of the truck. Maybe it wouldn't come. Maybe it was just a crazy dream and I'd wake up and everything would be okay. My body stilled when I finally saw a pair of headlights in the distance.

"M-Mom…" I tapped on the driver's seat with my hand but as I watched the headlight get closer, I started to hit it. "Mom! Stop the car! T-there's a truck coming! STOP THE CAR! Pay attention!" As the distance between the truck and our car began to lessen, my quiet please evolved into panicked shouts. Finally frustrated with her not listening to me, I went to grab her shoulder but the moment my hand touched her it evaporated into smoke. I tried again and again but got the same result. At this point, my pleas were falling on deaf ears and I was powerless to do anything. Nothing was working and I lost hope of changing the outcome. Taking one last look at my Mom, I reached out to touch her one last time only for my hand to fade into the air around her before the truck crashed into us. "I'm sorry…"

Opening my eyes again, tears freely rolled down my face, soaking the pillow underneath me. Groggy and honestly not feeling too hot, I reached up to wipe my face when the curtains opened. A blonde man with a white coat walked in with a kind smile on his face. "How are you feeling, Miss Talbot? I'm Doctor Cullen." His voice was calm and soothing as he spoke to me.

"Fine, thanks." I muttered, trying to compose myself after the dream. It took a moment for me to recognize the name but if I remembered correctly this was the Volvo kids' dad.

"That's good to hear. I'm going to check your vitals very quickly so please let me know if you feel any pain." He gave me a once over before jotting a few things on a clipboard while I waited. The atmosphere of the hospital was starting to make me slightly uncomfortable.

Poking his head in from behind the privacy screen, Charlie shot me a small smile before pulling it back. He stood next to my bed and lightly patted my shoulder before turning his attention to the doctor. "How is she, Doc? Nothing major I hope."

"A minor head injury from her fall but thankfully nothing serious. A few days rest and she will be just fine." The doctor smiled before turning his attention back to me. "I also don't recommend operating any machinery or vehicles for the time being."

"I guess I'll have to give the factory a call and tell em, I'll need a few days off then huh." I grinned, joking.

"I'm afraid so." He shot back while looking over the things in the clipboard. "Any preferences on who I call to come pick you up?"

"I don't think that'd be necessary, Doctor Cullen. My house isn't that far." That was a lie, I didn't exactly know how far my house was from the hospital but he didn't need to know that. "Besides I'm the only one at home right now anyway, my dad's out of town. Probably won't be here for another day or two."

He frowned and shot me a sympathetic look. "I can't in good conscious allow you to walk home or be unsupervised so soon after an accident, Miss Talbot."

"What? Noo, sure you can Doctor Cullen. You said it yourself, it was just a minor injury. Nothing serious." The idea of staying in the hospital didn't sit well with me. The atmosphere here made me feel uneasy and I didn't want to be here any longer than I had to be.

"I'm sorr-"

"I can keep Calum company!" Rushing in from the hallway, Bella came to my rescue. "As long as you're okay with it, Dad and...Doctor Cullen. I could stay with Calum for a little while." She looked between the two nervously, unsure of how they'd answer. I turned my head to look at Charlie, pleadingly.

Unable to hold my stare, Charlie sighed and looked at Doctor Cullen for help. "What do you think, Doc? Is that ok with you? We live right next door so we could take Calum home and watch over her until her dad comes to town. I know it's not how things work but she might be more comfortable at home."

With a final look at me, Doctor Cullen reluctantly agreed but in exchange I'd have to come back to the hospital for a follow up in a few days. It was probably going to be the best offer I was going to get so I immediately agreed.

We were waiting for Charlie in the hallway while he dealt with Tyler when a nurse walked up to us. "Calum Talbot?"

"Yes?"

"There's a phone call for you." She smiled, motioning me to follow her to the front desk. Looking back at Bella, she reassured me that it was fine and that she would go grab our medication in the meanwhile.

Picking up the phone, I brought it up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Calum!" The sheer volume of his voice made me flinch a little. "Are you ok? What happened? What did the doctor say?"Dad shot out questions one after another, not really giving me any time in between to actually answer them. I was a little shocked to be honest. I had gotten so used to him keeping his distance that I wasn't really expecting him to react this way. Coming out of my shock, tears slowly began to pool in my eyes. He still cared... "Calum? Calum!"

Carefully wiping the eyes away with my fingers, I tried to keep my voice as steady and as calm as I could. "Sorry...I'm f-fine, just a bit shaken up that's all. Some guy hit the ice wrong at school and his car slid across the ice. Doctor said I hit my head pretty hard but nothing too serious. He recommended some bed rest and prescribed some pain medication just in case."

It was quiet on the line for a minute or two before Dad let out a sigh. "Thank goodness, you're ok Calum...I-" Dad paused for a moment before he started to cry. "I just d-don't know what I'd do if I..if I lost you too, sweetheart." Listening to my dad cry was slowly tearing my heart in half. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid. He sounded like he was on the verge of breaking.

"It's ok, Dad." I whispered, trying to comfort him. "I'm still here so it's ok-"

"It is not ok!" He suddenly shouted back. "It is absolutely unacceptable...I never want you to think that that is ok...Calum sweetheart, you've been so strong for so long. You've been taking care of me while I've done nothing for you and I am so sorry. I understand that sorry isn't nearly enough for everything you've had to endure but...I'm not even sure how to explain myself, sweetheart. After your mom died...I-I just didn't know what to do. I was so lost without her and I just threw myself into my work to get away from it all. I didn't want to think about it and in turn, I was neglecting you. My precious baby girl. I-It took..It took almost losing you for me to realize it. You're all I have left in this world and when I got the phone call from school, I thought I almost l-lost you. I-I don't know if I can handle being alone...You mean so much to me, sweetheart, and I promise you I will do better by you." He took a few deep breaths to compose himself before continuing on. "I'll be there in two days and I'll make it up to you ok, sweetheart? We can go out of town or we can stay home. Anything you want, you name it. Make me a list and I'll make it happen."

The earnesty in his voice was enough to make me smile a little. "Ok, Dad but remember you asked me to." I joked, using the palms of my hands to wipe away the remaining tears on my face. After finishing my conversation with him, I was just about ready to pass out. I decided to take a seat in the waiting room since I doubted I'd be able to leave if I actually collapsed. I assumed Bella and Charlie were still taking care of things because none of them came to get me. Leaning back in the seat, I gently pressed the pads of my fingers against my temples and took some deep breaths. It had been an extremely taxing day. I was both mentally and physically drained. I stayed that way for a while, lost in my own thoughts, when I felt a chill run up my spine. It felt like someone was staring at me.

Jolting up right, I looked around the room but only met eyes with Bella. "Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"If you can disregard the fact that I was thrown into the back of your truck like a ragdoll, I'm fine." I teased. "What about you? You feeling ok?" I didn't get a good look at Bella after the accident until now but she looked fine. No visible scratches or injuries I could see.

"Y-Yeah, I got lucky and didn't get hit." She stammered, not meeting my gaze, before changing the topic. "Are you ready to go? Charlie is waiting for us in the cruiser."

I was surprised by her answer but decided not to push it. I was just happy she was ok. Nodding, I got up from my seat and walked out of the hospital with her. "Wanna bet on what happened to Tyler's license?

The drive home wasn't so bad. It turned out that the hospital was actually a good distance away from home but again Doctor Cullen didn't need to know that. Charlie made sure to drill it into both mine and Bella's head that if we felt anything other than ok that we were to tell him immediately. To which, I promised to would before we pulled up to the Swan residence.

"Wait right here, Calum. Let me jot down our phone number for you." Charlie instructed before walking into the house, leaving me and Bella outside.

"Mind if I make Charlie some dinner before I come over?" Bella asked. "Unless you don't want me to. I totally get it. We haven't known each other so that long and-"

"I don't mind the company, Bella." I said, cutting her off her ramble. "How about after dinner? I kind of wanted to lie down for a bit."

Bella nodded in agreeance before Charlie came back and with another promise to call, I went home. Closing the door behind me, I trudged my way up the stairs. As much as I wanted to just flop into bed, I begrudgingly dragged myself to the bathroom for a quick shower. Clean and in a new change of pajamas, I couldn't wait to climb into bed and the moment my head touched the pillow, I drifted off.

I wasn't sure how long I had slept for but I woke up to the sound of knocking. Feeling groggy and a little disoriented, I dragged myself out of bed and to the front door. I wasn't sure what time it was exactly but it had to be Bella. Opening the door, I was expecting a short brunette but instead I was looking at a tall blonde.

It took my brain a minute to fully process who I was looking at before I reacted. Swiftly stepping back, I was about to close the door in his face when one of his hands held the door open. Struggling to close the door, I glared up at him. Just when I was starting to think he was alright, he shows up at my house.

"I understand how this may seem but please let me explain." He calmly said, holding on to the door like I wasn't pushing my weight against it. Giving the door one final shove just in case, I sighed when it still didn't budge. I quickly thought over the situation before releasing the door and folding my arms over my chest. I figured that if he tried anything, Charlie didn't live too far. I could hold him off until Charlie came. I was surprised that he didn't push the door open more, instead he took a step back. Holding up a basket in front of the open gap between the door and doorframe, Jasper sheepishly smiled at me. "Carlisle sent me to give you this."

Looking at him and the basket, I didn't know what to say let alone think. Truthfully, I felt kinda bad that I jumped to conclusions but not that bad. It was still strange to just show up at someone's house without them ever giving you the address. With a sigh, I unfolded my arms and opened the door wider. "Look, Jasper. I appreciate the thought. It was really nice of your dad to do that but did it ever cross your mind about how weird just showing up at someone's house is?"

"If I'm being honest, it did." He smiled. "But Carlisle and Esme demanded I bring this to you. In small towns like Forks, everyone knows just about where everyone lives but if you like I think that's the police chief's cruiser over there. Once I drop this off, I'll go turn myself in."

Smiling a little bit at his response, I relaxed a little bit knowing that Doctor Cullen sent him. "What is it?" I stepped forward and he met me halfway. Lifting the cloth on top, I greedily took in the smell of muffins.

"Carlisle spoke with your dad and he mentioned that it was just you living here for the moment so Esme, my foster mother, decided to make you something to eat while you recover." Jasper explained, handing the basket to me. "Kind of a welcome to Forks and get well soon, I suppose."

"Oh my goodness, she didn't have to. That's so sweet, tell her I said 'thank you' please" I said, genuinely touched. "Give me one second, I'll put these away so I can give the basket back." I turned to rush to the kitchen when Jasper spoke up again.

"That's ok, I need to grab the rest from the car."

"The rest?" Stopping in my tracks, I turned back to watch him walk to the car and pull out a few more bags. My jaw dropped. Was this normal or were the Cullen parents just extraordinarily kind to their neighbors? I stepped to the side to let Jasper in, still flabbergasted. "Does your mom know that there's only one person living in this house at the moment? That's enough to feed an army."

Letting out a chuckle, Jasper carefully set down all the bags on the counter before looking at me. "Esme likes to cook and she said she wasn't sure what you like so." He gestured to all the containers with a hint of amusement.

"So she made a 24 course dinner?" I questioned.

Laughing again, Jasper just shrugged. "Esme likes to cook." Was all he said like that was sufficient enough of an answer.

...

Hi guys! Sorry about the super late chapter. With everything going on with COVID-19, I got a little busy and didn't have much time to write. I hope you guys are staying safe and health.  
Please let you know what you thought of the chapter, I'd really appreciate it. c:


	8. Chapter 8 : Frequent Visitor

It might have been because of my not too subtle glances at the door but I was relieved that Jasper didn't stick around too long after helping me put away the food. I felt a little bad about ushering him out but I didn't really feel comfortable being alone with him for long intervals just yet. Sure, he didn't do anything for me to feel this way. We just said hi to each other in passing at school and had small talk here and there but I didn't think I needed a reason to justify it. My gut feeling was enough reason.

Shooting Jasper an apologetic smile, I watched from the porch as he walked back to his car. Stopping just before climbing in, he looked back at me with a smile. "See you around, Calum." He said before getting in and backing out of the driveway.

'Obviously.' I thought. 'Forks wasn't exactly massive and we kind of went to the same school.' Willing myself not to pull a face or snort at his lame goodbye, I just waved back at him. "Drive safe." I called out, keeping an eye out for any signs of Bella. Not that it was a big deal if she saw him but I didn't really feel like explaining why Jasper Cullen, brother of the pain in her side, was doing at my house.

Glancing back over to the Swan House as the back of Jasper's car disappeared around the corner, I spotted Bella emerging from the front door with two plates in her hands. It looked like she was struggling to close the door so I jogged over and took one of the plates out of her hands.

"Thanks." She smiled, digging into her pocket for her keys. "Sorry I took so long. I had to call my mom and make dinner." She gestured towards the plates. "I hope you like baked chicken."

"No problem, I didn't want another repeat of gym class." I teased, wondering why it seemed like everyone thought I couldn't cook for myself. Smiling at the thought, I couldn't deny that I was hungry and it smelled really good. My mouth watered a little. "Mmm smells good, Bella. Did Charlie eat already?"

She shook her head, somehow still fumbling with her keys. "He's eating right now, probably watching the game too I think."

That didn't sit right with me. Frowning a little, I thought about it for a minute before stopping Bella from locking the door. She looked back at me with a look of confusion. "How about we stay at your house tonight? I know its kind of a last minute decision but my house is quite literally barren. Like if you don't mind...I think I'd rather crash on your couch for tonight after everything that happened. You know just in case anything happens." I sheepishly said.

Bella looked at me and for a brief second I saw the relief on her face. I figured it was because she wasn't too comfortable just sleeping over at someone else's house even if it was her neighbor and I could give her that. We did just meet not too long ago. Plus she probably would feel more comfortable in her own bed and I didn't mind not being on the air mattress for a night.

Stepping into the Swan home, I took in how homey it looked and felt. It felt lived in and that made me immediately feel comfortable. Looking behind him, Charlie smiled at the two of us. "Forget something Bells?"

"Um..no, Calum wanted to sleep over here for the night if that's ok Dad." Bella replied.

"Sorry to intrude Charlie, I didn't really feel up to staying at my house for the night. Feel free to say no though, I know it was last minute." I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment, feeling like a little kid again.

"Nonsense, Calum. You're welcome to come over anytime. No trouble at all. I'll admit I actually feel better with you two over here for the night so make yourself at home and don't hesitate to ask for anything...legal of course." Bella groaned and marched herself towards the kitchen at Charlie's comment, muttering something about his horrible sense of humor on the way.

Laughing, I shot him a grateful smile. "Well there go my plans for me and Bella tonight then. Thanks Charlie." He nodded before turning back the tv. Following Bella into the kitchen, I took a seat across from her at the dinner table. "Dads, am I right?"

Handing me a knife and fork, Bella just shook her head and rolled her eyes. We talked about school, Forks, and our experiences moving from out of state as we ate. It didn't seem like much but I honestly felt a little closer to Bella after that. We pretty much were in the same boat. Two kids that moved to the small town of Forks, leaving everything familiar behind for the 'greater good' of one of our parents. 'What bleeding hearts we have', I thought while helping with the dishes.

After dinner, Bella and I were in her room when she suddenly brought up the topic of the Cullens. "Hey Calum?" I hummed in response as I flipped through one of the books sitting on her desk. "What do you think about the Cullens?" She asked quietly.

Not taking my eyes off the book, I just shrugged. "They're alright, I guess. A few of them need an attitude adjustment but other than that not bad."

She nodded and was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Was that Jasper Cullen's car I saw driving away from your house earlier?"

Mentally groaning, I commend Bella for how observant she was but kept my focus on the book and tried to play it off as nothing. "Yeah, the good doctor's wife took pity on me and sent Jasper over to be my personal meal on wheels." I closed the book and put it on her desk before turning to look at her. "My fridge is currently stocked with enough food to feed an army. It was really nice of her but I wonder if she knows it's just me and my dad living in the house." I laughed.

Bella looks at me with confusion and hesitates a second. "That doesn't sound like them."

Cocking my head to the side, I asked her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean from what Jessica and everyone else says about them, it just seems I don't know...out of character I guess?" She says quietly. "But maybe its normal. It doesn't seem like anyone knows them all that well and all." She was quick to add that last part when she noticed how I was looking at her.

I thought about it and I guessed it was kind of true. The only one I saw on fairly often was Edward and he was pretty standoffish. Not the friendliest but not exactly complete asshole material I admitted. His siblings were ok, though the blond girl needed those horse blinders with the way she looked at people when they passed by. I shrugged. "I suppose they are. According to the rumors and from what I've seen so far, they are a little off putting. Nothing wrong with keeping to themselves and minding their own business in my books though. They're nice enough, if anything just a little weird I guess?" Bella nodded in agreement. "But personally I wouldn't believe everything Jessica says. Rumors could be wrong." I left out the part where I thought Jessica had a big fat mouth on her but Bella didn't need to know that, it was just a personal opinion. Girls like her jumped to conclusions too quickly to have good judgement.

Bella blushed a little but we moved on to the next conversation topic: what the hell was Mike's deal?

Surprisingly the Swan's couch was very comfortable and the quilts they lent me were so warm. I remember Charlie mentioning a family friend making them. I woke up from the sound of Charlie coming down the stairs in the morning. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up and greeted Charlie as he tried to quietly creep down the steps. "Morning Charlie, there a reason you look like you're trying to sneak around your own house?" I teased.

At the sound of my voice, his head snapped in my direction with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn't want to wake you but I guess I did a pretty piss poor job at that."

I waved him off as he walked into the kitchen. I thought about flopping back down and trying to regain the lost heat but decided against it. Getting up and neatly folding the quilts away, I stretched a bit before letting Charlie know I was going back to my house to get ready. He nodded, told me to be careful, and let me know what time to be back so we could go to school.

Trying to make it quick, I jumped into the shower and went through my morning routine. I was in the middle of changing when I suddenly remembered the reading assignment that was due today. Scanning my room for my backpack, I grew frantic when I couldn't find it. I jogged downstairs thinking that maybe I left it in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. 'Maybe it's Bella or Charlie.' I thought, abandoning my search for my backpack. "Coming!" I called out.

Opening the door, I fought the urge to narrow my eyes. I'd have to get Dad to install a peephole or something because if I knew who was behind the door, I won't be opening it so often.

"Mornin, Calum. How are-"

"Yes good morning, Jasper. I'm fine, thank you. Not to be rude but how often can I expect to be seeing you at my house?" I interrupted, feeling slightly uncomfortable, but playing it off as light banter. I mean this was only the second time but still.

His smile didn't falter with my attitude if anything it got bigger and he politely took a step back from my front door. "If things go well, often I hope." He replied. "I'd like to be good friends." He smoothly added.

I schooled my expression to be neutral as I stared at him, trying to decipher what he meant. He looked to be genuine but how could I be sure? I didn't know him that long. Maybe I was thinking too deep into it but no teenage boy I knew spoke like he did. It was kind of weird. I decided to think about it more later before I strayed too far from the main topic at hand. "Right." I sighed. "So why are you here?"

Dangling a set of keys out for me to see, Jasper gave them a little shake. "I thought I'd take you to school since your car is still there."

Shifting my weight to my other leg, I pressed my lips together and tried to think of a polite way to decline his offer. "That's really nice of you, Ja-"

It was my turn to be interrupted when a loud car horn cut me off. "Calum!" I jumped up from the sudden sound, putting a hand over my hammering heart before craning my head out to see who was calling me.

"Alice wanted to come pick you up too." Jasper admitted. "She refused to be left behind."

Low and behold, there was petite little Alice hanging out of the window of a red Jeep, waving an arm out at me. I laughed at how tiny she looked sitting in the car and gave her a small wave back, feeling Jasper's second hand embarrassment from his sister's antics. "I really appreciate you guys showing up but I don't want to hold you up. I have to find my backpack and things for the day."

"Not that I would mind waiting for you but I have your backpack in the back of the car" Jasper said, jabbing his thumb back in the direction of the car.

"Why?"

"You left it at the hospital so I grabbed it for you." He smiled.

"Oh...Thanks." I awkwardly said. "Um well Charlie said he'd taken me and Bella to school today so you guys don't have to." His smile fell a bit at that and he looked a little disappointed.

"Calum!" Turning my head in the other direction, I saw Bella and Charlie coming out of their house. Bella stopped to stare at the two Cullen siblings in the front of my house with a confused expression while Charlie went to unlock the cruiser. "Emergency call down at the station, gotta leave a little early today."

I let out a small breath of relief. Charlie had impeccable timing. Shooting Jasper an apologetic smile, I quickly locked the front door and was about to walk over to the Swans when I involuntarily bumped into him. "Jasper?" I didn't even realize how close he was.

Looking down at me for a brief second, Jasper quickly turned his attention to Charlie. "Mornin Chief Swan."

Stopping to look, Charlie mirrored his expression to Bella's before walking over. Bella trailing behind him. "Morning." Charlie gruffly replied. "What brings you here so early in the morning, son?" Smiling, I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one that thought it was weird that Jasper was at my house.

Charlie's authoritative tone didn't scare Jasper at all though. He just smiled at the police chief. "I thought I'd offer Calum and Bella a ride to school since both their cars are still there." Snapping my head at him in disbelief, I actually did narrow my eyes this time. Offer? I didn't remember being asked earlier. Yet here he was pretending to be an absolute angel in front of Charlie. "Since we're headed to the same place."

Glancing over to Charlie, I expected him to stick to his promise but I watched him seemingly relaxed at Jasper's words. "It'd be a great help but only if the girls are ok with it." Charlie said, turning to me and Bella.

Before I could even utter a word, Bella beat me to it. Stepping over to stand next to me and Jasper, she looped her arm in mine. "It's fine with us like Jasper said, we're going to the same place but you're going to be late Dad." She reminded him. It was apparent that she didn't think showing up to school in a police cruiser was as cool as I did. Seeing that I didn't say anything because I didn't have the opportunity to do so, Charlie just nodded in acceptance and rushed back over to his car with a warning to be careful driving to school.

"You know I don't think I remember being offered a ride to school, Jasper Cullen." I said as Bella walked over to the Jeep to greet Alice. "I think your exact words were 'I thought I'd take you to school.' but maybe it slipped my mind." I fake pondered, slightly amused by his angelic facade.

"Maybe it did." He shrugged before stepping down a step on my porch with his hand gesturing towards the car. "After you."

Rolling my eyes, I started towards the car. "It's not like I have much of a choice."

...

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	9. Chapter 9 : Girls' Choice

Gripping the car door, I tried to keep my expression as calm and cool as possible as Jasper drove us to school. It's been a long while once I haven't been in the driver's seat and I couldn't say I was enjoying it. Alice and Bella were chatting away on my left with Alice fully turned around in the passenger seat to look at me and Bella. It was nicer to say that they were talking to each other but from my point of view, it looked more like Alice was talking at Bella. The poor girl couldn't seem to reply fast enough.

I kept an ear on their conversation, halfheartedly replying here and there while my eyes watched the traffic outside. I stared out the window at all the passing cars and street lights, almost expecting something to happen.

As nice as this all was, the stress of it all was growing to be too much for me. I could feel my heart thump and pound against my chest from the anxiety while my knuckles turned white from how tight I was holding on to the door. I didn't like not being in control and it didn't help that I would see Jasper's eyes staring back at me in the rear view mirror from time to time. I didn't think too much of it in the beginning but after a while I was starting to get angry. Did he know how reckless he was being?

"Don't you think you should keep your eyes on the road?" I finally snapped, having caught him looking at me again. My sudden outburst startled Bella. She looked between Jasper and I, confused. Luckily at this point, school was within sight and Jasper managed to stop at a light. "If you're not even going to try to be a safe driver, I might as well walk!"

Grabbing my backpack, I quickly got out of the car in a huff. I was thankful that the crosswalk light had just turned green so I didn't have to wait next to the car like an idiot and quickly crossed the street. With my bag slung over my shoulder, I began my trek to school.

"Calum! Wait!" It didn't take Bella too long to catch up to me. Matching my pace, she walked beside me with a worried expression on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just don't like distracted drivers is all." I sighed out, considering how immature my outburst was. I could have definitely handled that better but what's done is done and I didn't regret it. Based on Jasper's and Edward's driving, maybe all the Cullens were bad drivers. Not pushing the subject, she asked me if I wanted to come over today.

oOo

Tyler had been hovering around me and Bella every chance he got, offering to carry our things or walking us to class, because he felt bad about what happened. Like a chain reaction, this got Eric and Mike to decide to do the same 'So we don't exhaust ourselves'. It got so annoying I just started to flat out ignore them, choosing to pour my attention on to the girls in the groups. After a couple failed attempts to get my attention, they stopped trying and gave all their attention to Bella. Poor girl. She was too nice and her halfhearted replies only fueled their efforts.

It was too bad that with all the attention she was getting, she couldn't get the one she actually wanted.

During biology, I noticed Edward trying his best to _politely _ignore her. She tried talking to him, probably wanting to thank him for saving her but she only managed to get a nod or two from him. I didn't miss the frown on her face when she turned to answer one of Mike's dumb questions. 'What an ass." I thought, shaking my head.

oOo

I wasn't sure if it was all the extra attention Bella and I were getting because of the accident or if I was just irritable today but by the time my last class rolled in I was about ready to snap at the next person to ask me if I was feeling ok. Bella must have been feeling the same way because once the last bell rang to signal the end of the day, we couldn't pack up our things fast enough. Standing up from our seats at the same time, we couldn't help but grin at each other.

The closer we got to our cars, the better my mood got.

"Are you skipping right now, Calum?" Bella snickered from beside me.

"Can't be, if I was there was no way I could keep up with how fast you're running to your car." I shot back. "You know, Bella, if I didn't know better I'd say you're trying to ditch someone with the pace you're moving at."

"Shut up. What if you summoned him?" Bella groaned before glancing around and shoving me to the side as we walked into the parking lot. "I don't need anyone to carry my things. I don't know why Mike keeps trying to."

"Because he can't take a hint?" I offered with a grin and shrug. "See you later?" Bella nodded, dashing to her car before anyone could stop her. Walking over to my own car, I was just about to get in when someone cleared their throat just as I opened the door.

"Calum, could I speak with you for a moment?" Turning around, I met eyes with Jasper Cullen.

I tossed my backpack on to the passenger seat and gave him a tiny smile. "Sure Jasper but it's only this morning, I'm really sorry I acted that way but I seriously don't like distracted drivers. I don't mean to be _that _backseat driver and I'm sure you're a great driver and all but-" Jasper's amused smile caught me off guard and stopped my ramble. "What?"

"Sorry. It's just- why are _you _apologizing?"

"I-I just don't want you to think that I was some bitch that needs to control everything I guess." I muttered, loss for words. Truthfully I didn't know why I felt the need to apologize. He was the one at fault.

"Far from it, Calum. I should be the one apologizing for not focusing on the safety of the road and putting you in an uncomfortable situation." Jasper said sincerely.

"It's fine, Jasper, just promise to focus on the road alright?" I glanced behind him and noticed a large portion of the student body watching us. "I'll see you next week?" Thinking I ended the conversation. I made a move to climb into my car when Jasper reached out to stop me. Holding me by my arm, I looked at him, waiting for an explanation. "Jasper?"

"This weekend. Are you doing anything this weekend? Maybe I could make it up to you." He smiled down at me, hopeful.

Frozen in place, my mind went wild. Like a date? Did he ask me on a date? No. There was no way in hell he did, I reasoned. He probably just feels bad about what happened. I quickly reasoned that he was just trying to be nice and that I was jumping to conclusions. Meekly smiling at him, I gingerly loosened his hold on my arm enough for me to pull it back to my side.

"That's a really sweet offer, Jasper, but...but my dad's supposed to be coming back this weekend so I should probably keep myself free." I said. "You know to unpack and stuff...Maybe another time?"

Taking a step from me, he nodded in acceptance with a sad smile. "Of course. Another time then."

oOo

"Charlie mentioned that you girls were getting the attention of the boys in town."

Shrugging, I scooped another spoonful of Esme's delicious casserole into my mouth, purposely avoiding Dad's gaze. Once Dad arrived in town, he and Charlie were stuck together at the hip. I was happy that Dad had found himself a friend so quickly but now I knew how Bella felt. The two men took turns embarrassing their daughters every chance they got and when they weren't doing that, they were talking about sports or fishing. I didn't even know Dad liked to fish but apparently it was one of his favorite pastimes before I was born. So I wasn't surprised to hear that Charlie had warned him about boys. "I guess? Probably because me and Bella are fairly new to town."

"Well...what do you think of them? The boys." Dad tried his best to sound nonchalant about the topic but was horribly failing. We had just gotten back from a day out in Settle, both to drop off his work boxes in his new office and to spend some time together, and was having dinner now.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I be interested in someone? You scoping out the boys for me, Dad?" I teased.

Coughing a little bit, he cleared his throat. "No I am not, it is completely your decision who you choose as a partner. Your dear old man was just wondering if anyone caught your eye is all."

"Nope. No one...yet." I added that last bit when I caught Dad's relieved expression. "In terms of interest though...I guess the Cullens are pretty interesting." Changing the subject, I filled Dad in on all the gossip,rumors, and events that happened in town while he was gone. Most of them being about the 'mysterious' Cullens that had moved into town before us. Not that he'd show it, Dad liked to listen to drama and gossip. I think it makes his life just a little spicier.

What I decided to keep to myself was that while we were in town, I may or may not have bought something for a boy. While waiting for Dad, I decided to pick out a few presents in the stores nearby. Just little things for my friends. After picking out some accessories for Alice, I walked past the men's section. Pausing for a moment, I thought it wouldn't hurt to look around. Under the guise of looking for something for Dad, I allowed my eyes to scan through all the clothing. Spotting some gloves, my mind returned to Jasper.

Pressing my lips together, I grabbed a pair of black gloves with white detailing at the wrist and quickly stashed it underneath the pile of gifts in my arms. I felt my cheeks start to burn as I rushed to check out. It was just a gratitude present, that's all. Plus his hands were pretty cold last time, I was just being considerate.

"Sounds like I need to thank the Cullen boys and their dad for looking out for you girls."

Those words shook me out of my thoughts. "No, you don't." I quickly said. "That's completely and utterly unnecessary and I already thanked them." I didn't need Dad embarrassing me in front of anyone else, let alone the Cullens. Making a half heartened sound of acknowledgement, Dad made a comment about how he had to ask Esme for some of her recipes.

And just like that my weekend came and went.

Bella and I were given a clean bill of health and Edward Cullen was still rude but those things were to be expected. While Bella and I weren't pleased with his attitude, Mike was absolutely eating it up.

He hovered around Bella a lot more now and because Bella attached herself to my hip to avoid being alone with him, I saw a lot of Mike too. In the beginning, it wasn't that big of a deal but as the days passed it was beginning to get on my nerves. Always trying to carry her books or her bag, Mike orbited around Bella like an excited puppy begging for attention. It was Thursday and I'd only have to put up with it for another day before the weekend came but I was at wit's end with him. Exactly how many times did Bella have to decline his offers for him to quit it?

I was just about ready to smack him with my bag when Taylor and Eric called him over to them during lunch. Glaring at his retreating figure, I loosened the grip on my bag. 'You got lucky, Mike.' I thought.

I suspiciously eyed the three of them huddled together at the end of the lunch table, their none too subtle glances couldn't be good, when Jessica cleared her throat.

"So...The girls' choice dance is coming up." She started, looking between all us girls before lingering at Bella for a moment.

"Yeah, I saw the flyer for it in the hall." I piped in, propping my chin in my palm. "Is it a big dance or something?"

"One of the few that happens every year, so yeah I'd say pretty big." Angela smiled. "We get to ask the boys instead of visa versa. It's to promote equality." She mocked. Showing a little interest, I nodded my head. It'd be fun to see how the girls would come up with ways to ask the guys.

"Do you guys know who you want to ask?" Jessica beamed before faltering a little. "I-I was thinking about asking Mike…unless you were thinking about asking him, Bella."

Reaching for my water bottle, I took a sip to hide my grin as I turned to look at Bella. The girl's mouth hung open in what I think was surprise and a swift nudge with my foot quickly shook her out of it. "Oh! Um yeah, totally go for it, Jessica. I think you two would look great together...besides I'm not much of a dancer." Awkwardly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Bella shrugged away from Jessica, still surprised with the question. Upon hearing Bella's answer, Jessica visibly relaxed.

"Wait so you're not going to go to the dance then?" Angela asked, leaning towards Bella. "Are you going, Calum?"

"I'll think about it but probably not. Not a big fan of crowded places." I said, shrugging myself. School dances didn't really appeal to my interests but I wasn't against going to at least one. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bella nodding her head in agreeance, giving a soft maybe as well.

The day ended with no more mention of the dance or who we were interested in and I hoped it'd never come up again but I forgot about the little huddle I witnessed at lunch. I hadn't anticipated what they could be up to, forgetting the entire thing when Angela brought up the possible news articles that she could write about for the paper. Honestly who'd give those guys an ounce of attention when the topic of extra cup padding on sports teams came up?

oOo

My Friday sailed by smoothly. There were no mishaps or spikes of irritation in my mood and as a result there was a smile on my face as Bella and I stopped by our lockers to put away our books. It had been a pretty good day and if I could make it back home without anything happening, it'd be an even greater one. The Swans had invited me and Dad over for dinner since it was Bella's and I's turn to cook meaing our dads would have to clean in exchange.

"Edward actually talked to me today."

"When'd that happen?" I questioned, turning to look at her as she sorted through her backpack. Her tone of voice had it seem like she didn't care but I had a feeling it was the opposite.

"After Mike mentioned that Jessica asked him to the dance and that he was hoping I'd ask him." She grimaced. "It was embarrassing, Calum. He heard everything." I pressed my hand against my mouth to cover my smile and snorted at the news. Bella rested her forehead against the metal of her locker. "It's not funny, Calum." She whined.

"Course not, Bella. How could I ever think that was funny?" I teased, ushering her to the parking lot after closing her locker. "Well? What did you say to Mike and what did Edward say to you?" I asked, genuinely interested in why Edward decided to finally talk to her after someone else makes a move on Bella.

"Can you believe that he told me that we shouldn't be friends. It was honestly confusing but I told Mike that he should go with Jessica for obvious reasons and because...you and I were going to go to Seattle that weekend." Shooting me an apologetic smile, Bella unveiled her genius excuse.

Deciding to ignore the bit about Edward, I rolled my eyes at her in disbelief at her horrible lie as we walked into the parking lot and towards my car. "Well at least, I know what to say if anyone asks me now." She let out a sigh, relieved that I was going to play along. Walking up to my car, I unlocked for us when I noticed Eric walking over to Bella's side. The poor girl hadn't noticed his approach and jumped up when he reached out to poke her shoulder. I watched the two exchange awkward hellos, not missing the glance for help from Bella when Eric leaned against my car. I held back the urge to laugh at her misfortune and reached for another bag in the backseat. "Get off my car, Eric." I commanded, stepping away from my car before turning to Bella. "I'll be right back. Gotta go do something really quick." I wiggled my fingers at her with a grin, signalling that she was on her own. Her glare made me laugh. Bella was a big girl, she could handle Eric on her own.

Jogging over to the Cullens, Alice was the first to notice me. "Calum!" She beamed, happy to see me.

"Hey Alice." I smiled back, stopping just a few steps away from them. Edward glanced over at me and nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to look at something behind me. Rosalie did the same from Emmett's side while the hulking mass of a human being cheerfully greeted me.

"Let me take those from you." Jumping up a little, I didn't catch Jasper standing next to me. Handing the bag over to him, I sheepishly smiled at him a little embarrassed. Was he there the whole time? I felt slightly bad for not even noticing.

"Thanks. They're your containers, I washed them and everything. Thank your mom for the food again please? Everything was honestly delicious. Dad and I have been savoring every bite."

Gingerly taking the bag from my hands, Jasper smiled down at me. "Esme will be happy to hear that you liked them so much."

" Liked them? We loved it. I honestly think they spoiled my dad, he's been moaning about how there's none left. He and I wish we could cook half as good as her but we'll just have to settle for our mediocre meals." I laughed.

There was a small pause in the conversation and I thought that was the end of it when Jasper spoke up. "Come visit. I'm sure Esme won't mind teaching you."

...

Hi guys! I know it's been a while once the last chapter. I got a little busy and missed August's update but I'm going to try to post two chapters this month to make up for it. I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.  
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